Taurus (Galactic Cage Fighters (Book Three)) Page 3

“Not yet, but you will be when I’m done with you,” Zen said sexily as he walked back into the bedroom.

  “Men, they only have one thing on their minds. The closed door is to your bedroom. Someone came earlier and dropped off your bags in there.” Cocoa went to her bedroom and waved goodbye to Maya.

  “See ya in a couple of hours. I’ll walk you down to the banquet room for dinner.”

  “Sure. See ya later,” Maya called out.

  She was suddenly all alone. She went to her bedroom and sat on the bed. She grabbed her cell phone and hit the speed dial button.

  “Maya?”

  “Hi, Grandma.”

  “Oh my dear, I am so glad you called. We were worried about you being so far away,” her grandmother said.

  She smiled into the phone. It was so good to hear her grandmother’s voice. “I’m find, Grandma. I promise. I got a job.”

  “Tay, she’s on the phone right now!” her grandmother yelled to her grandfather.

  Maya waited until she heard the familiar click of her grandfather picking up his own phone. She closed her eyes and pictured her grandparents sitting on their couch. There was a phone on either side of the couch so her grandparents could both be on the phone at the same time.

  “Hi, Grandpa.”

  “Baby girl, are you coming home?” her grandfather Tay asked.

  She laughed. “No, Grandpa. I have a job now.”

  “That’s wonderful!” her grandmother said.

  “A job? With who?” her grandfather asked.

  “I am working with the GCFA. I am leaving today to go on the circuit tour with them.”

  “You’re not going to be a fighter are you?” her grandmother asked worriedly.

  “No, Grandma, you know I have two left feet and no strength at all.”

  “Then what are you going to be doing?” her grandfather asked suspiciously.

  Oh crap! They were not going to be happy about this. What should she say? Should she even tell them? Maybe she could change the subject and…

  “Maya! Answer your grandfather.”

  Oops. She must have waited too long to respond. “Well…it’s an entrance level position. But I have great benefits.”

  “Maya!”

  “I’ve been hired as a ring girl,” she finally admitted.

  “A what?” her grandmother asked.

  “A ring girl. You know, the girls that walk through the cage to signal the beginning and ending of matches.”

  “Oh, well that’s nice,” her grandmother responded, clearly unfamiliar with what the job entailed.

  Her grandfather was very quiet. “Grandpa?”

  “You can come back home. I have friends that will give you a job.”

  “I have a job. One I got all on my own.”

  “At what cost? What other services are you expected to perform?” her grandfather demanded angrily.

  “Nothing, I swear! The ring girls do wear…short outfits. But it is mostly for publicity and promotion of the circuit. I might have to do some commercials.”

  “Commercials? You will be televised?” her grandmother sounded excited.

  “Mary, do not encourage her!”

  “Hush, Tay. We raised our girl right. She is grown now and has her life ahead of her. Let her live it.”

  She was on the verge of tears. Never had she argued with her grandparents before. So at her grandmother’s acceptance and support, she half cried and half laughed. “Thanks, Grandma. I promise both of you that I will make you proud. I won’t let anyone take advantage of me.”

  She could hear her grandfather as he sighed. “If anyone gives you a hard time, you call me. I have some friends at different spaceports that will be there if you need them.”

  She wiped away a few stray tears. “Thanks, Grandpa. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “We love you, baby girl,” her grandmother said.

  “I love both of you, too. Bye.”

  She laid back on the bed after hanging up the phone. That went better than she thought it would. Things could only get better after this. Right?

  *****

  She was tired but honestly could not take a nap. There were too many loud and sexually excitable noises coming from the other bedroom. She took a quick shower and changed. The sounds were still going on. She put on her earplugs to listen to her music. She almost had to blast it because they were that loud. So she didn’t hear the knock on her door.

  “Hello?” Coco walked into her room.

  Maya was a little startled. She took out the earplugs and sat up. “Oh, hi. I couldn’t hear you because of my earplugs.”

  “We were kind of loud, huh?”

  Maya shrugged her shoulders. “Not too bad.”

  Coco laughed. “You are such a bad liar. I know we were loud. Sorry about that. But man, he has a huge cock and he definitely knows how to use it to make a female feel good. I’m not sorry about that. But if I’m ever too loud, just pound on my door and let me know.”

  “It was fine.” She couldn’t stop herself from blushing.

  Maya followed Coco out of the suite and down the hallway to the elevators. “So are you and Zen boyfriend and girlfriend?” Why did she sound like she was in high school?

  Coco laughed. “Oh no. Zen is fun, but he is not a one female kind of man. He’s just good for a good fuck, but any female with him should expect a no strings relationship.”

  “You’re okay with that?” Maya was a little shocked. She had never been with anyone intimately. She was raised to believe that you should wait until you are with a special person, someone you want to be with for more than one night and one day. Preferably someone she would marry.

  “No, of course not. I like my freedom too much right now. I am young and love having fun. A boyfriend would really put a dent in things.”

  * * *

  Chapter Four

  Coco had taken her to a large banquet room that was set up with buffet tables full of food. She felt conspicuous walking in. All the men looked her over while some of the females ignored her altogether. But she knew they were all wondering the same thing. Was she a full human?

  She looked around the room in awe. Most of the fighters were already there, and…if she wasn’t mistaken…some Venetians. The fighters missing were Rage, Talon, Zara, and Taurus. She had hoped to try to make a better impression with Taurus. Since he wasn’t there, she felt a little more relaxed. That was until Coco introduced her.

  Coco pushed her to the center of the room. “Okay, so this is Maya. She is an Arian halfsie. She’s one of the new ring girls so let’s all welcome her.”

  The room was silent as they stared at her and sniffed the air. She felt herself blush. She looked at Alana who was an Arian halfsie fighter. She gave Maya a kind smile that put her at ease. The only other person that would be able to tell that her DNA wasn’t mostly Arian would be Talon, the other Arian halfsie fighter.

  “Welcome to the GCCCFA. I’m Sssersssan,” a female fighter with small scales on her head said as she walked forward to shake her hand. She was very exotic looking even with the scales. She had a little sprig of blond hair growing up in the center of her head. Her eyes were strange, too. The scales and eyes made it clear the female was a Reptan halfsie.

  “I’m Maya. Nice to meet you.” She shook the other female’s hand trying not to stare. She was gorgeous and exotic. The little sprig of bright blond hair sprouting up from the top of her head looked a little like a Mohawk. She wondered if she was trying to cover up her scaled head. Maya thought it only made her look more exotic.

  Slowly, the others came up to her to introduce themselves. The female fighters were first since there were only two others present besides Sersan. She met people she had only ever watched from televised fights. She felt very nervous.

  “I’m Gana.” She didn’t shake hands but nodded from across the room. The female fighter was Priman just like Taurus was. She wondered if Taurus and Gana were a couple. Was that why he didn’t show any interest in her? She fel
t a tiny thread of envy looking at the other female. Gana had beautiful, brownish-red hair and brown eyes, which made her very striking.

  “Hi, I’m Isis. I’m an Isian halfsie and I am new to the circuit, too.”

  The female had long, ice-blond dreadlocks that went past her butt. She was almost as small as Maya, maybe even a little shorter. She had very pale blue eyes with inky black lashes. She wore a tank top that showed her impressive tattoos. Maya was surprised that this female was a fighter.

  “Roxy over there stuffing her face is another new replacement fighter. I’m sure when she is done eating she will come and meet you formally. She’s a Felon halfsie.” Coco gave the other female a disgusted look.

  Maya waved and nodded at Roxy. She had bright red hair and hazel eyes. She was beautiful like all halfsies were. Maya felt like she paled in comparison.

  “Hi, Isis. Nice to meet you.”

  “Zara isn’t here yet, but I’ll introduce you to her later. You already know Zen.” Coco went on to introduce the male fighters present.

  She blushed when she looked at Zen. Yeah, she knew him a little too well. She almost took a step backwards when the tallest, widest, bulkiest male she had ever seen approached her. Coco put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

  “This is Hammer. Don’t let his size fool you. He is just a big, cuddly teddy bear,” Coco said to Maya.

  Hammer was well over seven feet tall. He had a shaved head and was huge. There was no doubt he had Cyclops in him. But since he had two brown eyes instead of the one eye the Cyclops were known for, it made him a Biclops.

  She reached out to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you, Hammer.”

  Hammer slowly and carefully reached out and took her much smaller hand in his. He treated her as if she was made of fine china. “Welcome to the GCFA.”

  Coco introduced her to the three new male fighters. Ronin was a Sorian halfsie, Hercules was a Plutian halfsie, and Maxim was a Droid halfsie. The Plutian was the most unusual looking one because he was blue. Despite the unusual skin color, he was extremely handsome. The Droid halfsie fascinated her. He didn’t look nearly as bulky as the other male fighters did, but something in his eyes told her that he had plenty of strength when he needed it.

  She looked over at the one male fighter present that didn’t come to greet her. It was another Reptan. He didn’t even look her way.

  “Don’t mind him. That’sss my brother, Esssan. He’sss anti-sssocial,” Sersan commented, making her brother look up and growl at her. His strange eyes raked over Maya and then went back to eating his food.

  “Come and eat.” Coco directed her to the buffet tables.

  Maya loaded her plate with eggs substitute, a yogurt, and green tea. She had decided to go vegetarian, much to the dismay of her grandparents. Her grandmother was the most upset saying, “But a girl needs her protein.”

  She smiled to herself as she sat down beside Coco to eat her food. Her grandmother kept ‘accidently’ forgetting Maya’s new no-meat diet and would slip in bacon with her eggs or having a steak dinner. She felt a pang of pain and guilt from missing her grandparents.

  She looked up and watched as two sets of couples came into the room. She knew who the males were, but the females they were sitting down at a table with were unfamiliar.

  “That’s Rage and his fiancée, Rachel,” Coco had leaned over to explain to her in a quiet voice.

  “Rachel…as in Rachel Star. The only human fighter to work the GCFA circuit?” Maya’s eyes grew wide and looked intently at the pretty, blond haired female.

  “Yeah, but she was working undercover for the IDJ at the time. Now she is head of security for the GCFA Circuit.”

  “IDJ agent? Wow. And now she and Rage are engaged?”

  “Yep.”

  Two men in black came in and stood behind the other couple that was sitting with Rage and Rachel. She looked at Coco in question.

  “They’re security for Talon’s wife, Lindy.”

  “Is she famous or something?” Maya tried to not stare.

  “No. She had been kidnapped by a crazy Dracul to be his slave.”

  “Oh no.” Maya looked from the beautiful glowing face of Lindy to Coco. “I hadn’t heard of the kidnapping. Is she okay?”

  “Yeah. Talon, with the help of the IDJ, found her. The Dracul is in custody. The two guys standing behind her are her guards.”

  “If the guy is in custody, why does she need guards?”

  “It’s a safety measure that Talon and Lindy’s parents insisted on. Especially since Lindy is carrying hers and Talon’s first child.”

  “She’s pregnant?” Maya tried to get a glimpse of a baby bump without looking like she was checking out the female.

  “Yep. It’s not been leaked to the press yet. Since they are expecting, they went ahead and had a private wedding ceremony.”

  Maya nodded her head. She could understand that completely. The crazy fans she encountered when she had come to apply for the ring girl position were everywhere. She continued to eat her food and held a decent conversation with Coco and Sersan who decided to sit and eat with them.

  She got this tingling sensation down her spine. It usually meant that someone was watching her. She looked around the room trying to see who it was. Her eyes caught on a pair of dark brown ones. It was Taurus. She had not seen him come in and get his food. He was sitting at a table with Hammer. His eyes were locked on her, watching her every move. She felt her body immediately respond.

  Her breathing came out in short quick puffs, her heart beat faster, her skin prickled with goosebumps, and her nipples were so hard she thought they might cut through her shirt. She tried to look away and she dropped her silverware on the floor. Damn it! Did her clumsiness have to show up right at that moment? She bent down to pick up the silverware and nearly bumped her head when another hand grabbed her silverware from the floor.

  “Here you go,” a male’s deep voice said.

  She followed the hand up the strong muscular arm to the broad shoulders and then finally to the face that was attached to all maleness. Taurus.

  “Thanks.” She took the silverware from him and pulled herself back into her seat.

  “Oh, you probably already know Taurus from tryouts,” Coco said, not realizing the tension building around her.

  “Yes, we met earlier. It is good to see you again, Taurus.” When she looked up and smiled at him, it appeared that he blushed. It turned her on big time to think she might have an effect on him like he had on her.

  He grunted and then walked away. She wondered if she offended him again or something. Maybe he didn’t like the clothes she had changed into.

  “He’s just shy,” Coco told her, patting her on the hand.

  Was she that obvious? She went back to eating her food. Well, the second impression did not go so well. Would there will be a chance to have a third impression?

  *****

  “What was that all about?” Zen asked teasingly.

  “What was what all about?” Taurus kept walking toward the training facility. He wanted to get in a few laps before the official training began.

  “You know, you getting on one knee and offering the lady her silverware. It nearly made me swoon from all the chivalry.” Zen acted dramatic fluttering his hand around his heart.

  “You’re an ass!” Taurus told him.

  “I think you like her,” Zen said with an evil gleam.

  “All I did was help her with her silverware. How did you get that I suddenly like her from that?”

  “You have never done that for anybody, ever.”

  “I can be helpful.” Taurus defended himself.

  “Don’t get me wrong, you are my friend, but you keep your friends at a distance. You rarely interact and when you do, it is brief.”

  Taurus stopped walking and stared at Zen. When did he start becoming so observant? “If you ask if we can have sleepovers and share our feelings, I think I might puke all over you.”

  Zen laughed. “T
hat has to be the first time I have heard you make a joke.” He put his arm around Taurus’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s go run some laps and loosen up before training.

  *****

  “Let me introduce you to the others.” Coco motioned for Maya to follow her. They had finished their meal and handed over their empty plates. She followed Coco who headed straight for the table with the two couples.

  “Rage, Rachel, Talon, and Lindy. I want to introduce you to the new ring girl. Maya is an Arian halfsie.”

  Maya looked nervous when Talon turned in her direction and sniffed. But he didn’t say anything to her but nodded his head. He knew.

  “It’s nice to meet you Maya. I’m Lindy.” Talon’s wife reached out her hand to shake Maya’s.

  “Nice to meet you, too.”

  Rage also didn’t shake her hand but nodded his acknowledgement. His fiancée, Rachel, reached out to shake her hand.

  “Have you reported to the healing facility yet?” Rachel asked.

  “Um…not yet. But I’m in perfect health.”

  “That’s not why I asked, but glad to hear it. It should have been explained at the tryouts that all employees will be implanted with a tracking device for security measures. I’m going to beat the shit out of Zen and Taurus if they didn’t tell the new fighters this.”

  “They might have, I got there at the very end. I’ll go to the healing facility immediately,” Maya told her.

  Rachel stood. “Let me go over to the new fighters and make sure all of them have reported in for the tracking device. Nice to meet you, Maya.”

  “You, too.” Maya turned to follow Coco out of the banquet room. She wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and walked right into the tallest female she had ever seen.

  “Watch it, pipsqueak,” the tall female said as she stepped around Maya.

  “That’s…that’s…” Maya was totally awestruck.

  “Yeah, that’s Zara the Amazon. But we shorter people like to refer to her as Zara the Bitch,” Coco said loud enough to get a reply from the banquet room.

  “I heard that, ring girl!”

  * * *